Religion is a sensitive, controversial subject with most of the world. With our generation, it is more common to have a diverse perspective on things. We all have our own opinions. Being away from home this past year has helped me form my own perspective on certain areas of my life; including faith.

Honestly, I'm not sure what I believe in. There's a higher power out there, but I've questioned many things. Growing up, I accepted Jesus Christ into my life. However, the older I got... the more I thought of the world realistically. Why did my family and I get rear ended on the way to church one morning? We were coming to serve YOU. Why would you let bad things happen? Do you hear my prayers? It's hard to believe in something that can't be seen. I can't help anyone with these questions because no one could give me ones myself. I was brought up to just believe and that was that.

A numerous amount of people run to God whenever they have problems and suddenly become Christians at their own convenience. How can we make sense of human evil without believing there's something more to it? We all want to believe someone is looking out for our best interest. I wish I could know for a fact that some kind of spirit is looking out for me unconditionally, but I can't accept something without having a full understanding of it.

All too often when we hear “faith” we think of an organized religion/belief in something supernatural. Faith is not just a reference to God. Without fully believing in him, I still have faith. Faith in my friends and family; faith I will wake up tomorrow; faith I can pass my college finals; faith my mom can get through her struggles; faith my brother will achieve anything he wants to in life. Although all the things I have faith in may not happen, that's okay. Faith is essential because it gives us something to look forward to and believe in. I've learned that for now it's okay to have faith without something to back it up. Just because I've chosen not to follow my family and friends with their particular kind of faith, doesn't mean I can't be a person of faith.

Nowadays, it's hard to find places that aren't involved with being a christian. If you want to feed the homeless, you have to pray with them before giving out food or clothing. If you want to do anything to better your life, people say you need God to do that. What if I want to help people out of the kindness of my heart? I shouldn't have to believe in something specifically to make me a good person. I believe I have a purpose, but not one that’s been destined by the Greater Good. I believe I have a purpose that through my experiences, I define for myself.

Just a reminder, this is me voicing my personal opinion. Maybe one day my thoughts on this topic will change. I'm not saying there's any right or wrong way to go about religion and faith. I write about things to get my mind off of them whether someone else's opinion is different or not. As I was sitting in class the other day, this topic was weighing me down. I was scared to post about this concept but figured if it was bothering me to the point where I had to immediately take out a pen and paper... I should post about it. Feel free to comment your perspective on this! I'm always open to hearing more about why other people agree or disagree. It is good to be well rounded on general knowledge in situations like these.